That day, Aurelius did catch up to Kael and beat him severely.
12.08
My father was furious, convinced I had deliberately instigated a conflict between the Celestials and the Demons. He confined me to my palace, forbidding any visitors.
Three days later, he decreed my marriage. I was still to be sent to the Demon Realm, but not to the promising eldest son, Kael. Instead, I was to marry the disabled and feeble–minded third son, Hael.
I heard this new arrangement was the result of a special discussion between Prince Aurelius and my father.
My sister brought me a red wedding gown, smiling. “Little sister, I’ve asked Father to allow us to be married on the same day. Pre-
pare yourself. You must look your best.”
The gown she brought was faded, the pearls sewn onto it loose and falling off. It was clearly a cast–off. I knew she only wanted to use my squalor to highlight her own splendor. But my only desire was to leave the Celestial Realm. So, in the face of her humiliati-
on, I just nodded. “Thank you, sister.”
She left, triumphant. I remained seated, my eyes vacant. I told myself, once the ceremony was complete, I could go with Hael to the Demon Realm. Even if my husband was deaf, mute, and had the intellect of a three–year–old, he was my only ticket out of this
place.
Finally, the wedding day arrived. Two princesses of the Phoenix Conclave marrying on the same day drew a large crowd.
The eldest princess, Lyra, was a vision in a magnificent red gown, her hair adorned with countless rare jewels. She was, after all, marrying the renowned Crown Prince. The onlookers gasped at her beauty and her good fortune, their words a mixture of envy and
jealousy.
The younger princess, Rhea–me–appeared in a faded, second–hand gown, my face bare of any makeup. The Celestials pointed and whispered, laughing at how I, once so obsessed with the Prince, was now being married off to a demon fool.
I acted as if I heard nothing. But as I lifted my head, I saw someone I never should have seen again.
The Crown Prince of the Abyss, Zael.
During my time in the brothel, in a desperate bid for survival, I had once cried out my true identity. It had only been met with a
chorus of demonic laughter.
A few days later, after I had been… broken in, Zael had appeared before me. He had looked me up and down with a mocking smile.
“I heard there was a lowly prostitute in this gutter who claims to be a Celestial Rainbow Phoenix. I came to see for myself.”
I had denied it, but I could not escape his clutches. He took me back to his palace and tormented me for three hundred years befo-
re growing bored and tossing me back into the brothel.
Seeing him now, I felt as if I had been plunged into a frozen lake. I wanted to run. Though I quickly turned my face away, he recogni- zed me instantly.
In front of the assembled royalty of the Celestial and Demon Realms, he boomed with laughter. “Well, well. Today’s bride looks
remarkably like a certain cheap whore I used to enjoy in the Abyss.”
A dead silence fell over the assembly.
Aurelius, who had just arrived, frowned, his face a mask of frost. “Zael, this is the Celestial Realm, not a place for you to spout bas- eless slander.”
Zael roared with laughter. “Whether I’m lying or not can be easily proven. Just have her come over and face me. Rhea, you served me for three hundred years. Won’t you come and greet your master?”
Chapter 2
12.0
It felt as if a thousand lightning bolts had pierced my body. I was shaking uncontrollably, my neck stiff, unable to turn my head.
“Insolence!” Aurelius raged. “A whelp from the Abyss dares to run his mouth at my wedding!” He summoned his divine sword, but
Zael just drawled, “Calm yourself, Prince Aurelius. The one who served me isn’t your bride. Why are you so worked up?”
“Besides, why are you so quick to call me a liar? I’m not. Lady Rhea has a very lifelike birthmark, a phoenix tail feather, on her lower
back. If you don’t believe me, you can go and see for yourself.”
His words stripped me bare, leaving me with nowhere to hide.
My sister Lyra gasped theatrically. “Heavens, Rhea! He knows about your birthmark! Could it be true?”
My face was ashen. My body felt as heavy as lead. I couldn’t even lift my feet.
At that moment, Kael suddenly appeared.
“Rhea, come with me!” he shouted.
Seeing him was like seeing a ray of light. I cared for nothing else. I ripped off the faded gown and ran toward him.
But even more agitated than me was Aurelius.
He roared, “You insolent little demon! You dare show your face here again? You’re looking for death!”
A blade of light shot from his sword toward Kael. My eyes widened, my heart pounding in my throat.
In that critical moment, I revealed my true form. A phoenix with only four celestial feathers appeared before the crowd.
I used my own body to block Aurelius’s fatal blow.
Kael was unharmed. But three of my feathers shattered and fell away.
Before I closed my eyes, I saw Aurelius drop his sword, his face pale as he screamed my name.
My filthy past, I thought with a grim finality. I couldn’t hide it after all.
